


Queens of the Track

by ImpossibleClair



Category: Six - Marlow/Moss
Genre: Angst, College AU, Don't copy to another site, Fluff, Found Family, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Kinda, Mom Friend Jane Seymour, Roller Derby, Roller Derby AU, a healthy amount of angst but mostly fluff, aragon and boleyn forgiveness arc, babey kat howard, badass pivot anna, badass pivot parr, chaotic jammer anne, cue bonding time!, descriptions of injuries, henry plays derby for another college, mom friend aragon, no ships but you could definitely take it that way if you want, rated teen for mentions of abuse, roller derby is brutal but the found family is everything, the queens are all ex girlfriends of henry and they go to the same college, there's a bunch of other characters too but I don't wanna tag them all, written by an actual derby player
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-12
Updated: 2020-02-01
Packaged: 2021-02-27 11:27:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,196
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22226383
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ImpossibleClair/pseuds/ImpossibleClair
Summary: Cathy Parr takes a flyer from the pile. Roller derby, huh? She might just give that a try.Little does she know five other women are thinking the same thing, for exactly the same reason. They know Henry plays for the Church College team, and what could be sweeter than kicking their ex-boyfriend's butt on the derby track in front of hundreds of spectators?Of course, they'll need to be pretty good to achieve that.With revenge, redemption and the reputation of Royal College on the line, the six ex-girlfriends and their rookie team will have to give the roller derby life everything they have.(A roller derby/college au brought to you by an intense need to see these badass ladies in a badass sport where they can physically kick Henry's butt for everything he put them through. Bonus fluff, fun, and family bonding)
Comments: 28
Kudos: 94





	1. Glossary of Derby Terms

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This glossary is just a little preface to the fic, for those unfamiliar with roller derby (and even those who are). You may not need it, but it's here for your convenience. If you want anything added, just drop a comment!
> 
> I'll also take this chapter to thank the Soft Aragon Stans discord and @appleflavoredkitkats for basically giving me the start of the plot for this, as well as much discussion on future events that will come in later chapters. It was so awesome to chat derby with someone so enthusiastic. You basically motivated me to write this whole thing. I sincerely hope you love it <3

**Blocker** – a skater who is part of the pack. It is their job to stop the other team’s jammer, while also assisting their own jammer by doing offense

  
**Jammer** – a skater who scores points in a game. They start behind the pack. They must pass through once (initial pass) and then begin scoring points on their second pass (scoring pass). They wear a cover on their helmet with a symbol, usually a star

  
**Pivot** – a blocker who wears a helmet cover with a stripe on it. The jammer may pass their helmet cover to the pivot, and the pivot then becomes the new jammer. The pivot must remain the jammer for the rest of the jam. They must be wearing the jammer helmet cover to score points

  
**Pack** – the main body of skaters on the track, consisting of blockers and pivots. Jammers are not considered part of the pack. The pack is defined as the largest group of skaters on the track from both teams. If skaters are too far away from each other, ‘no pack’ is called and they must condense the pack

  
**Scoring pass** – any pass made by a jammer after their first (initial) pass. Each scoring pass allows a jammer to collect one point per opposition blocker (four in total)

  
**Jam line** – the line at the very start of the track. The pack must start the jam between the jam line and the pivot line. Jammers start behind the jam line

  
**Pivot line** – a line twenty feet forward of the jam line. Only pivots may touch this line, and only with one toe stop. Everyone else must be behind them

  
**Apex** – the curve at either end of the oval-shaped derby track

  
**Straight** – the straight sections of the track

  
**Lanes** – the track is separated in strategy into four lanes. Lane one is considered the two feet closest to the inside line of the track. Lane two is the next two feet, and etc. with lane four being the closest to the outside line. These are not marked on the track and are only used in communication between skaters, usually to communicate where the jammer is

  
**Inside/outside line** – the lines which mark out the track. The inside line is the inside of the oval, the outside line is the outside

  
**Ref lane** – the lane marked out beyond the track, used by referees

  
**NSO** – non-skating official. They carry out duties such as scorekeeping and penalty timing

  
**Penalty** – a punishment issued to skaters for illegal or dangerous conduct. Skaters report to the penalty box for 30 seconds of gameplay. Each skater is allowed to serve up to seven penalties, after which they are ejected from the game. Especially dangerous play may warrant expulsion before this limit is reached

  
**Derby stance** – the position of having one’s knees bent and spine straight, for balance and stability

  
**Wall** – a defensive structure formed by blockers in order to stop a jammer. Can take many forms. A two-wall is comprised of two blockers. A triangle is two blockers side by side, braced by a third who faces backwards. A flat wall is three or more blockers side by side. Walls must be both stable and dynamic to contain a jammer

  
**Brace** – using an arm/hand to steady another skater, usually by placing the hand on their shoulder or upper arm. This link must be dropped if challenged by a jammer, or be subject to a multi-player penalty, as blocking with linked arms is illegal

  
**Toe stops** – thick discs/chunks of rubber affixed to the toe of a skate, which allow skaters to stand on their toes and manoeuvre without the use of their wheels. Only actually used for stopping if skating backwards

  
**Freshmeat/freshies** – rookie skaters, trainees new to roller derby and/or skating in general

  
**Derby name** – an alias taken on by a skater for use on the track. A holdover from the days before roller derby was a serious sport, nearly all skaters still use these ‘stage names,’ even at world-level competition. Often consists of a pun or other wordplay. Plays on celebrity names and dirty jokes are common

  
**Gear up** – the act of putting on protective gear and other equipment for playing roller derby

  
**Scrimmage** – practice of gameplay, usually done without scorekeeping. Generally more relaxed than a real game and runs for twice as long

  
**Bowl junkie** – a skater who frequents skate parks (I’m not sure if I heard this somewhere or made it up…)


	2. Welcome to Freshmeat

Katherine Howard took a deep breath.

It was totally okay to be nervous. She kept telling herself that. This was the kind of thing that even non-anxious people would be nervous about. After all, whose crazy idea was it to put wheels on their feet and then make a sport out of it?

As she stepped into the gymnasium, she had to admit, she was in awe.

The huge space was pretty standard for a college gym, but it seemed transformed. Along the wall, people were sitting beside huge gear bags, chattering as they pulled on protective gear and laced up roller skates. A few were already fully geared up and skating, doing laps of the oval-shaped track marked out in white tape on the floor.

She shuffled in, clutching the strap of her heavy duffel bag and feeling very small. On the track, a skater in a blue jersey playfully smacked into a skater wearing green. Kat winced, but neither of them fell. In fact, she could hear them laughing. Oh god, what if she wasn’t cut out for this?

‘Kitty!’

She jumped, and turned to the voice.

A young woman with freckles and a green streak in her hair was waving madly at her from a spot by the wall. She had one foot in a roller skate and the other in a Heely.

‘Annie!’

Kat waved back, letting a smile spread across her face and some of the tension fall from her shoulders. She trudged over and dumped her bag beside Anne’s.

‘You made it!’ Anne leant in to deliver her a crushing hug. ‘I’m so glad!’

‘Well, I figured if you can do it, so can I,’ Kat reasoned. ‘I guess we’ll see how it goes.’

‘Yeah, once she gets her other skate on.’

Kat leaned around Anne to see the person who had spoken.

A young woman with golden-brown skin and bright, kind eyes gave her a wave.

‘Hey. I’m Cathy.’

‘Katherine. Most people call me Kitty.’

Cathy offered her hand, and Kat shook it.

‘Cathy was just telling me about the research she’s done on roller derby,’ Anne continued, casually kicking off her Heely and pulling on her other skate.

‘It’s got a really interesting history,’ Cathy said. ‘Dating back to the 1980s, when it was an exhibition sport.’

‘Is that why everyone has derby names?’ Kat asked, finally starting to pull out her gear. ‘It came from when it was all a show?’

‘Exactly. The sport is legit now, not a spectacle, but the names stuck.’

‘I like ‘em,’ Anne said. She was struggling with her kneepads.

‘Me too.’ Kat blushed. ‘Though I haven’t actually thought of one yet.’

‘All in due time,’ Cathy assured her. ‘Apparently most skaters don’t get their names until they’ve been skating for a little while.’

‘Oh, well that’s alright then.’ She turned to Anne, remembering something. ‘Is Anna here yet?’

Anne finally succeeded in strapping down her kneepads.

‘Yeah! She’s just getting changed, she should be back soon.’

‘Cool.’

‘How do you know Anna?’ Cathy asked, pulling on wrist guards. ‘Anna Cleves, right?’

Kat nodded awkwardly.

‘We, um, sort of dated the same guy. Not at the same time! But… yeah.’

‘All three of us did,’ Anne cut in, trying to tie her laces. ‘Dude’s an A-grade dickbag.’

Cathy had paused, frowning at them, and Kat got an awful feeling in the pit of her stomach.

‘This dude wasn’t say, six feet something, broad shoulders?’ Cathy asked with faux casualness. ‘Red hair, dumb beard?’

By the way Anne and Kat stiffened, she knew the answer. She scoffed, disgusted.

‘Seriously! How many girlfriends has this guy had?’ she asked nobody in particular.

Over by the door, a blonde woman hurried in and found a clear spot to put her bag.

‘Wait, hold on,’ Anne said. ‘Are you telling us you dated Henry too?’

‘As briefly as womanly possible,’ Cathy replied. ‘But yes.’

Anne and Kat exchanged looks. Kat rubbed her neck.

‘But hey,’ Cathy continued, trying to lighten the mood. ‘Now we’re here and we’re gonna learn how to kick his butt at roller derby.’

‘Hell yeah.’

Anne held up her hand and Cathy smacked it a high-five, and then gave one to Kat as well. Anne had just opened her mouth to launch into some new topic of conversation when suddenly she yelped and ducked behind Kat.

‘Hide me!’

‘What? Anne?’

Anne pointed to the door.

Another woman had walked in while they talked. She was tall, showing off a muscular build in a gold singlet and black leggings, and her every movement suggested confidence. Her curly hair, dark fading to gold at the ends, was tied back in a no-nonsense ponytail.

‘Uh, someone we know?’ Cathy asked.

‘Catherine Aragon,’ Kat explained. ‘She and Anne have, um, a history.’

Anne gave her a guilty half-smile.

‘I kinda sorta maybe… dated Henry… when he was still with Catherine…’

Cathy gave her a look, somewhere between utter confusion and disappointment.

‘I made a bad decision, okay! Trust me, I’ve been paying for it ever since.’

Catherine spotted someone in the crowd – the blonde woman – made her way over and started to gear up. She didn’t even glance toward the little group who watched her. 

‘She’s gonna kill me out there,’ Anne groaned quietly. ‘Maybe I should leave.’

Kat grabbed her hand, a little harder than she intended.

‘No! Don’t! I don’t want to do this without you!’

Anne’s grave face softened, and she patted her cousin’s hand.

‘Relax, Kitkat, I wouldn’t actually leave you alone here. But you better be prepared to peel me off the track after Catherine is done with me.’

Kat chuckled, and even Cathy smiled.

‘What are we laughing about?’

Anna Cleves, changed from casual wear to a set of matching scarlet booty shorts and crop top, plopped down beside Kat.

‘Anna!’

Kat threw her arms around her best friend, and Anna returned the enthusiastic squeeze.

‘Kitty! I’m so glad to decided to come.’

‘Well you know, someone has to keep an eye on Anne.’

‘Hey!’

A sharp whistle blast cut through the gym, and the chatter died abruptly. A skater in a white jersey and a purple skater skirt lowered her whistle, having captured everyone’s attention.

‘Welcome to your first night of training, everyone!’ she called, voice echoing through the space. ‘Once you’ve got your gear on, come to the centre of the track and we’ll do a little introduction for you all. Get a move on! Put your hand up if you need help.’

The sound of conversation slowly rose again as the woman skated off.

Kat’s heart was racing.

‘I’m a tiny bit terrified right now.’

Anna bumped her shoulder affectionately.

‘You’ll be fine, Kit. We’ll look out for you.’

‘Yeah!’ Anne agreed, clipping on her helmet. ‘I mean, how bad could it be?’

*

Anne slumped to the floor, gasping. She barely even flinched when Kat stumbled over her toe stops and nearly fell on top of her.

‘I never… want… to do another squat… in my _life!_ ’ Anne panted.

Kat wheezed in agreement. Their first lesson in skating had been ‘derby stance,’ which basically translated to ‘squat and skate forwards for five minutes,’ and it _hurt_. She couldn’t recall her muscles ever burning like this before.

‘Well done, everyone.’

The skater with the whistle – who had introduced herself as Jammerwocky, one of the league trainers – looked around at all of them, grinning.

‘The first training session is always the scariest,’ she continued reassuringly. ‘You’re all doing great so far. I’m keen to get onto more skate skills, but before we do, I just wanted to give you all a little run-down of how things are going to work, looking into the future.’

Anne managed to sit up. Kat took an offered hand from Cathy and sat up as well, taking a gulp from her water bottle.

‘Firstly, we’ve got two groups of newbies here,’ Jammerwocky continued. ‘Some of you are league freshies, and you’ll be drafted to one of the league teams after passing your skills tests. The rest of you are from Royal College, which is putting together its own casual team to play against the other college teams.’

Anne nudged Kat, who grinned excitedly through her mouthguard.

‘Royal freshies, you’ll be on your own team after testing, separate from the league teams and on your own bout roster, organised by the college. But you’ll still train with us, so don’t be shy.’

She winked and gave them all a warm smile.

‘Second, this training program will run about six months. We’ll cover basic skating first, then move on to contact and gameplay. We’ll try to teach you the rules as we go along, so by the time we get to scrimmage – that’s gameplay practice, but without keeping score of points – hopefully you won’t be totally lost.’

‘I will definitely be totally lost,’ Kat muttered to herself.

‘Ditto.’

Jammerwocky checked something on her phone, then pulled out her whistle again.

‘Alright, on your feet everyone. Time for your most important lesson.’

‘Stopping?’ Anne guessed.

‘Falling.’

*

It was a long two hours. As it turned out, there was a technique to falling, a right way and a wrong way to do it. All of them did it the wrong way plenty of times before they did it the right way. Learning to stop was the next lesson, and then a terrifying ten minutes of skating on one foot, which proved not only terrifying but also great practice for falling.

Kat, Anne, Anna and Cathy practically dragged themselves off the track at the end of the night, aching and ouching and drowning in sweat.

‘I’m dead,’ Cathy groaned.

‘I’m deader,’ Kat said.

‘I’m the deadest,’Anne declared, not to be beaten. 

Anna shrugged.

‘I thought it was fun.’

The other three, in various states of collapse, shot her exhausted looks of confusion.

‘Amazing work tonight, everyone,’ Jammerwocky called across the gym, gathering up the cones from their last drill. ‘You should all be very proud of yourselves.’

She came to a stop before the group, smiling broadly.

‘Congratulations. You’re all officially freshmeat.’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So it begins! I hope you all enjoyed the chapter and didn't have too much trouble with the derby terms. This is just the beginning, and I promise there will be more derby excitement very soon, as well as some backstory for the queens and their relationships with Henry.   
> Don't be afraid to drop a comment! Happy reading!


	3. Contact!

Jane Seymour had very little trouble with contact drills. She eyed Catherine, ten feet ahead, crouched in derby stance, waiting for Jane to slam into her. The trajectory was clear in her head, every motion she had to go through laid out easily in her mind’s eye.

She pushed off her toe stop, gained some speed, angled her skates and aimed her hip at Catherine’s. She slammed into the other woman, but her shoulder made contact before her hip, and when her hip did hit, it hit too high and she bounced clumsily off the other woman, who barely budged.

She sighed in frustration, regaining her balance and turning back.

‘Hey, you almost had it that time,’ Catherine said reassuringly. ‘You just need to get a little lower and not lean your shoulder in so much.’

‘I know,’ Jane sighed. ‘I just can’t seem to get my body to listen to me.’

Catherine shrugged helplessly.

‘Just takes practice, love. Go again.’

Jane reset her position and Catherine sank again into derby stance. She lined it up, saw the steps. _Lean out_ , she reminded herself. _Get lower_.

She pushed off, and this time, the hit was perfect. Catherine staggered a little, but recovered as Jane turned back, a thrilled smile spread across her face.

‘That was perfect!’ Catherine said.

Jane made an excited noise, and they high-fived each other, the plastic of their wrist guards clacking.

‘Nice work, Jane!’

They turned to see Cathy across the track, where she was working with Anne. Cathy sent across a grin and a thumbs-up. Then Anne slammed into her and they both fell over.

‘God dammit, Boleyn!’

‘Sorry!’

Anne jumped back to her feet and helped Cathy up.

‘Should I say “you need to get lower,” or…?’

‘Shut up. Your aim was off.’

‘Only by like, _that_ much!’

They bantered on as they reset and continued to practice.

Heavy contact was considerably less scary than they had all expected. After two months of skating skills and one month of tentative contact, the trainers had finally bumped the freshies up to full-contact training. They were learning fast.

Anne had dived in head-first, eager to add a little chaos to her skating repertoire. Anna, Cathy and Catherine had gone in confident and stable. Jane had been hesitant, but picked it up quickly. Kitty, well…

Kitty picked herself up from the floor, again. She shook it off, just like she’d shaken off the last four failures to stay on her feet. Frustration was beginning to seriously test her patience, but she fought it back. She could do this. She could _do this!_

She lined up her hit again, getting into derby stance, focussing.

‘You got this, Kit,’ Anna said over her shoulder. ‘Just take it one step at a time.’

Kat nodded. She blew out a breath, breathed in deep, and launched herself at Anna.

She stayed low, stayed on course. Her hip slammed into Anna’s exactly where she’d aimed. It was a solid hit, textbook technique, and she went flying.

Anna felt Kat slam into her and bounce right off, barely shifting her. The smaller skater sprawled onto the track once more, her gear taking the brunt of the fall.

She pushed herself slowly back to her hands and knees.

‘You okay?’ Anna asked, offering her a hand up.

Kat growled, but took the hand and stood.

‘I’m just frustrated,’ she grumbled. ‘How am I supposed to be a jammer when I’m not even stable enough to take a hit?’

Anna bopped her affectionately on the helmet – the closest she could get to mussing up her hair.

‘Don’t be so hard on yourself. You’ll be a great jammer, just you wait.’

It was enough to prompt a small smile from Kat, and that was good enough for Anna.

Four whistle blasts rang out, and Jammerwocky yelled from the middle of the track.

‘Alright, bring it in!’

Anna put her arm around Kat as they skated back to the centre of the track, meeting up with Anne, Cathy, Jane and Catherine as they collected their water bottles.

When they’d realised all six of them had dated Henry, they felt it was almost inevitable that they’d end up hanging out. The bad blood between Anne and Catherine notwithstanding, they all got along quite well. Anne, Cathy, Kat and Anna already had a connection, and it didn’t take long for Jane to work her way into their hearts. She was kind and smiling, ever the fountain of encouragement on the sidelines. She was a formidable skater, but they all tended to forget that when she was giving out bear-hugs at the end of a training session. They were all still figuring out Catherine, an ex bowl junkie trading the skate park for the derby track. She’d seemed intimidating at first, already good on eight wheels, but as she and Jane integrated into the little group, she’d begun to open up, showing her softer side at post-training dinners and freshie roller discos.

She traded high-fives with the others as they gathered in the middle of the track, except for Anne, who pretended not to notice the lack of a gesture. She wasn’t greatly offended; it was all part of their little truce.

‘Good job, everyone,’ Jammerwocky said to the group. ‘I saw some great hits out there.’

‘Not mine,’ Kat mumbled to herself.

‘Hey.’ Anne pointed an accusing finger at her. ‘I will fight your negativity and that is a threat.’

‘Seconded,’ added Cathy.

Kat blushed, but warmth filled her heart. It was hard to feel sorry for herself when so many people were cheering her on.

‘We’re going to go back to some basic skate skills for the last part of the session.’ Jammerwocky held up a stack of orange cones. ‘Figure eights! Partner up, grab two cones and take turns to practice skating in a figure of eight around the cones. Focus on using the edges of your wheels, stay low and keep your stance wide and split.’

‘Partner?’ Anne asked Kat, who nodded enthusiastically.

They grabbed a couple of cones and found a spot on the track, setting up the cones about five feet apart.

‘Want to go first?’ Anne asked.

Kat shook her head.

‘No, you go. I want to see how you do it. Maybe pick up some stuff.’

Anne shrugged, shoved her green mouthguard into her mouth, and positioned herself next to the first cone. She pushed off, skating at a fairly slow pace. She bent her knees, getting low into derby stance as she came up to the second cone at an angle. With the leg closest to the cone slightly forward, and the outside leg farther back, she leaned into the turn and deftly looped around the cone. She repeated the motion as she skated back to the first cone, switching the position of her legs as she did so that her inside foot was in front again.

She repeated the figure-eight skating motion for a minute or so, and Kat watched carefully. She was a competent skater now, but slalom work like this still gave her some trouble. She found it hard to get her stance low enough, to split her feet the way Anne did. She always felt so unsteady.

‘Okay.’ Anne skated over to where she was watching. ‘Your turn. I’m pooped.’

‘Alright.’

Kat put in her mouthguard, bumped Anne’s offered fist, and positioned herself next to one of the cones. She pictured Anne’s stance, bent her knees and pushed off, keeping her inside leg a bit forward. She curved around the second cone, slowly but steadily, and looped back to the first. She tried to split her stance further and wobbled a bit, losing momentum.

‘You got it, Kitkat, stay steady,’ Anne encouraged.

Kat carried on, starting to feel the strain in her muscles after several more turns. Maybe she should stop and give Anne another go. _Just a couple more_ , she thought. _Just a few_.

She looped around one cone and picked up a little speed, heading into the next turn, confident now that she could do this. She leant into the turn, and immediately realised she’d made a huge mistake. Her knees weren’t bent enough, her feet were too close together, she had far too much speed.

She watched, felt – as if in slow motion – her feet roll out from under her. She pitched backwards. Her heart lurched. She saw the wall rush into the ceiling and caught a glimpse of her skates as her feet flew up, and then she was crashing to Earth.

The sound of the fall reverberated through the gym. The mighty thud rattled through the wooden floor. Almost everyone turned to look.

‘Shit!’ Anne swore. ‘Kitty, are you okay?’

Kat, flat on her back, was still trying to get her bearings. Everything had moved so fast. She was aware of eyes upon her, of how quiet it had gone in the gym, and blood rushed to her face as she thought of everyone looking at her. She sat up quickly and moved to turn onto her hands and knees, to get back on her feet and show everyone she was okay.

She got about halfway.

As she got her hands on the floor and twisted to get her knees beneath her, pain screamed through her body. She froze, tears immediately springing to her eyes. A strangled wince escaped her lips.

‘Kitty?’ Anne took a knee beside her, looking increasingly worried. ‘Kitty, what’s wrong?’

Kat could only whimper. The rush of pain had concentrated itself in once spot, settling a terrible, stabbing ache in her tailbone. Every twitch of movement made it scream with agony. She stayed there, trying to keep her weight on her hip and not her tailbone, unable to move.

‘Hey, hey…’

Anne was leaning in, concerned eyes peering under her helmet, hands hovering.

‘Kitty, it’s alright, it’s okay. What hurts? Did you it your head?’

Kat managed to shake her head, letting out a sob. She realised she’d been holding her breath.

‘Okay, that’s good!’ Anne tried on a positive tone. ‘So what hurts?’

Kat sobbed again, but it was half laughter. God, she felt stupid. What a rookie mistake. Not low enough, how dumb could she be? It was lesson number one. And now she couldn’t even get off the floor because she’d managed to fall right on her ass.

‘T-tailbone,’ she sobbed through her mouthguard.

Anne winced sympathetically.

‘Ooh, ouch. Alright, just hang on a sec.’

Anne looked around for help, but Jammerwocky was already sliding down next to her.

‘What happened?’

‘She landed on her tailbone.’

Jammerwocky hissed sympathetically.

‘Alright, stay there. I’ll get an ice pack. Anne, get her skates off, will you?’

Jammerwocky hurried off, and Anne set to work unlacing Kat’s skates. Anna, Jane, Cathy and Catherine all crowded around.

‘Are you alright, love?’ Jane asked. ‘That looked like a nasty fall.’

Kat tried to give her a smile, but it was watery and weak and she burst into tears again. Jane hugged her to her side as Anne succeeded in pulling off her skates.

‘Here we go,’ Jammerwocky said, reappearing with an ice pack wrapped in paper towel. ‘My very blunt recommendation is to stick it down the back of your pants, but do whatever works for you.’

‘Let’s get you off the track, huh Kitty?’

With no small amount of tears, whimpers and pain, the others helped Kat stand and limp slowly into the middle of the track. She sat – well, stood – off for the rest of the session, watching everyone else do speed laps and toe stop runs. People came past to check on her, and every time someone asked what she’d done she went bright red. She felt like a fool. A fool who couldn’t skate.

By the time everyone else was gearing down and heading home, she was wishing she hadn’t come to training at all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here it is! Chapter 3!  
> I was overwhelmed with the response to the start of this fic, thank you all so much for your kind comments and kudos. The next chapter is already in the works with some exciting content to be included. I also promise that poor Kitty has an easier time in the next chapter. Based on personal experience I can safely say landing on your tailbone is one of the WORST pains to have in roller derby, not to mention the second-most humiliating (but we won't go into that).  
> Thanks again for reading, and don't be afraid to drop a comment!


	4. What's in a Name?

‘Here we go.’

Anne handed Kat a bowl heaped with ice cream and sprinkles.

‘Nothing like ice cream and company to make the pain go away.’

Kat chuckled.

Jane and Catherine had invited them all round to their apartment after training, insisting they spend a little more time with Kat in order to cheer her up. Their place was much larger than the others had expected – but then again, they all lived on campus while Jane and Catherine lived in the city. The kitchen and living room of the apartment blended together, decorated with modest silver and gold décor. Glass sliding doors let in the late sunset as it spilled over the narrow balcony, casting light through the living room and even into the hallway which led to the bedrooms and bathroom.

The six of them sat around the living room, and even Kat, seated with another ice pack on her bruised tailbone, was comfortable on the squishy couches that surrounded the low coffee table. The whole space had an air of homeliness, of softness, and it was exactly what she needed right now.

‘Sorry you had to sit out of training, Kit,’ Cathy said as they all dug into their ice cream. ‘But next week will be better.’

‘Yeah,’ Anne garbled around a mouthful of sprinkles (to Catherine’s disapproving glare). ‘You’ll be back on your skates in no time!’

Kat sighed, puddling her spoon into the melting edges of her mountain of choc-mint and Nutella ice cream.

‘I know. I’m scared though. I’ve never taken a fall that bad before and it hurt a lot.’

‘We play a rough game,’ Cathy said with a shrug.

‘It’s alright to be shaken up, love.’ Jane leant over to squeeze Kat’s knee. ‘It’ll pass. You just need to get back out there and get your confidence back.’

‘And we’re all there with you,’ Anna reminded her.

Kat allowed herself a smile and a small laugh.

‘Yeah, I think everyone will be keeping an eye on me now. As if I needed a reason to be more self-conscious.’

‘Hey, it’s okay Kitty,’ Anne reassured her. ‘All of us have fallen on our butts more than once.’

‘Speak for yourself.’

‘Aragon, you stacked it just last week! I saw you!’

‘Take it easy, you two,’ Anna intervened. ‘This isn’t about you.’

Catherine sighed somewhat forcefully and Anne reluctantly sank back into the couch cushions. There was a short period of quiet while they all focussed on their desserts.

‘Hey, you know what we should do?’ Cathy spoke up.

‘What?’

Her eyes glinted.

‘Derby names!’ She put aside her empty bowl. ‘We’re only a couple of months away from our final skill test, right? We’ll be scrimmaging soon. We should totally come up with our names while we’re all here together.’

‘Yes!’ Anne all but sprang from the couch. ‘I’ve already been thinking about mine!’

‘I’ve got mine,’ Catherine said, then blushed. ‘Although I’m not sure it’s very good.’

‘The point of derby names is that they’re terrible,’ Jane reminded her.

‘Or extremely good.’ Anna licked her spoon clean. ‘One or the other, no in between.’

‘Hit us with yours then, Catherine,’ Cathy insisted. ‘Go on.’

Catherine, usually so stoic, blushed.

‘Why do I have to go first? Anne has ideas too.’

‘Yeah but if Anne starts talking we’ll be here all night.’

‘Hey!’

‘Anyway. Catherine.’

They all looked expectantly to her. Clearly uncomfortable, she got up and started collecting bowls.

‘It’s just a dumb idea, you should tell me if it’s too silly,’ she rambled. ‘But, well, I thought it could be fun to do a play on my name, so I thought… Aragonna Getcha.’

She strode into the kitchen and dumped the bowls in the sink, carefully avoiding their eyes. They could still see her blushing.

‘Yo, that’s _awesome!_ ’

Catherine looked up. Anne was grinning at her. The older woman thought she might die of shock.

‘Really?’

‘Hell yeah! It’s terrifying!’

Kitty was nodding, Cathy and Anna smiling, and Jane was practically beaming at her. She shrugged a little.

‘Th-thanks. I thought it sounded tough, so…’

‘It’s epic, Cath,’ Anna confirmed. ‘Totally suits you.’

Catherine was still blushing as she rejoined them all around the table.

‘Alright then. So, Anne?’

Anne grinned. There was a smudge of ice cream on her mouth.

‘Okay, so, I went through a billion different puns and I narrowed it down to two. We can take a vote.’

Everyone nodded. Anne held up a finger.

‘First one: Ten-Pin-Boleyn. And second.’ She held up another finger. ‘Boleyn-Ball. What do we think?’

They all thought a moment.

‘I really like the first one,’ Anna said. ‘But it might be hard to fit it across the back of your jersey.’

Anne bit her lip.

‘Oh, yeah, I didn’t think of that.’

‘I reckon the second one fits you pretty well,’ Kat spoke up.

‘Yeah, you hit hard enough,’ Cathy teased, rubbing her shoulder.

‘It’s a great pun either way,’ Jane offered.

Anne looked to Catherine. She shrugged, but there was a hint of a smile on her face.

‘I like Boleyn-Ball. It definitely fits for your style.’

Anne went pink, but her smile only broadened.

‘Boleyn-Ball it is then.’

She sat back and prodded Kat.

‘What about you, Kitkat? Any ideas?’

Kat shook her head. That wasn’t quite true; she _had_ thought about it. But nothing had come to mind yet that really made her excited. Everything she’d come up with was a bit too… _not her._

‘I feel like I’m not really good enough to have a name yet,’ she admitted. ‘I mean, you’ve all got your skating styles and stuff you’re good at. The only thing I do well is fall over.’

Anna leant forward, jabbing a finger at her friend.

‘Hey, no. You are plenty good at skating.’

‘And besides, falling is a skill,’ Cathy added with an amused smile. ‘One of the most important.’

‘Yeah,’ Jane said. ‘If you can’t splat onto the floor safely, you can’t do anything. What?’

Kat was staring at her. Something she’d said had clicked in her mind.

‘Splat, huh?’

Her brain was whirring. Was it dumb? It was kinda dumb. But it was a fun kind of dumb, and she liked it. She _loved_ it.

‘How about… KitKat Splat?’ she said slowly.

Anne seemed to stumble over several things she wanted to say before going with ‘OH MY GOD, YES!’

There was a general chorus of enthusiastic agreement. Catherine nodded and Jane clapped her hands. Kitty, blushing and very pleased, smiled to herself. “KitKat Splat.” Yep, that was her. She couldn’t wait to order her helmet stickers.

‘Who’s next? Cathy?’

Cathy spread her hands helplessly.

‘I have zero ideas. I don’t even know what position I’ll be playing.’

‘You’re pretty good at both jammer and blocker skills,’ Anna agreed. ‘Maybe you need a name somewhere in the middle.’

‘A pivot name.’

‘Yeah.’

Cathy drummed her fingers on the table, thinking.

‘Star something?’ she proposed. ‘Y’know, like the star helmet cover the jammers wear?’

‘Something to do with passing the star?’ Catherine suggested.

Cathy’s eyes lit up. She snapped her fingers.

‘Got it!’ She stood, dramatically raising her hands. ‘I am… Star Parrs!’

‘Oooh,’ Anne and Kat chorused.

‘Very cool.’

‘Perfect.’

Cathy sat back down, looking pleased with herself.

‘Jane?’

Jane shook her head.

‘Nothing yet. Circle back to me, do Anna next.’

‘Anna?’

Anna, so keen just a second ago, suddenly looked hesitant. She rubbed her hands on her jeans.

‘Well… I do have an idea. It’s not super derby-related though. It’s kinda… Henry-related.’

They all went quiet. There was a sickly sort of silence that always fell when they mentioned Henry. If they weren’t outright insulting him, that is. But Anna sounded serious, and they all had enough experience to tread carefully.

‘I don’t know if I’ve told all of you what happened with me and Henry,’ she continued awkwardly. ‘Kit and Anne know.’

The cousins nodded. Kat reached across the table, and Anna squeezed her hand, trying on a grateful smile.

‘I met Henry on a dating app, and after we’d been sort of dating online for a bit we realised we were at the same college and decided to meet up.’ She looked down at her lap. ‘He didn’t even recognise me at first, and when he did, he said…’

She paused to catch her breath. Her heart was beating hard and fast in her chest. Insecurities really did play by the “once bitten, twice shy” rule.

‘He said I was way uglier than my profile picture. He called me horse-faced.’

‘What a sack of shit!’

Everyone looked at Jane, who blushed furiously.

‘Sorry.’

‘No, no, you’re right,’ Cathy reassured her. ‘He is definitely a sack of shit.’

‘And you are way too pretty to date a shit sack,’ Catherine added to Anna. ‘Don’t you forget it.’

Anna had tears in her eyes. She swiped them away with the back of her hand.

‘You’re all too nice.’

‘I think we’re the right amount of nice,’ Kat said, and her bright smile brought Anna’s own smile back to her lips.

‘Anyway,’ she continued, breaking the tension. ‘I was thinking of sticking it to him with my derby name. Something like NightMare. What d’you think?’

‘Awesome,’ Anne said, and Kat nodded.

‘He’ll die when he sees you out there.’

‘I sure hope he does.’

‘Alright, Jane still doesn’t have a name.’

‘We don’t have a team name, either,’ Jane reminded them. ‘That’s more important.’

‘Oh shit, yeah, team names are a thing.’

‘Yes, Anne, yes they are.’

‘It ought to be something cool,’ Cathy thought out loud. ‘Something flash, y’know? It’s the Royal College derby team, after all.’

‘Royal Rollers?’ Kat made a face at her own suggestion. ‘Not quite, hey?’

‘Close, I think,’ Anna said. ‘It should be something to do with royalty.’

‘Royaling Stones?’ Jane gasped. ‘No! No, scratch that, I want that one. That’s my derby name!’

‘Royaling Stone?’ Catherine laughed. ‘Janey, you’re adorable.’

Jane was wearing an ecstatic grin.

‘It’s perfect though!’

‘It is, dear, yes.’

‘Back to team names.’

‘Right.’

Quiet fell again. Everyone seemed on the verge of an idea, but none of them quite had it yet. It wasn’t until Anna remembered something that she spoke up.

‘Well,’ she said slowly. ‘If Henry’s team is the Court, then maybe we can stick to the same kind of theme, you know? And it would fit with Royal College. Same aesthetic.’

Catherine cocked her head.

‘What did you have in mind?’

A grin crept across Anna’s face. An excited spark lit her eyes.

‘Ladies,’ she said. ‘We’re the Queens.’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 3! And with it, the derby names I've been sitting on for MONTHS, waiting for the right chapter to release them. Credit to the Soft Aragon Stans discord and especially @appleflavoredkitkats for helping me with some of the names I was stuck with. I'm very pleased with what we came up with.   
> As always, hope you all enjoyed this new chapter, and there's much more to come! Next chapter will see the Queens (now officially named as such) take to the track for some scrimmage. Woo!   
> Stay tuned!


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